Heartbreaking News for America as Swimming Legend Fails Qualify for World Championship Ahead of Paris Olympics 2024

Caeleb Dressel is a swimming icon with back-to-back medals won at International swimming competitions. Fans of the sport were excited to see the 26-year-old talented sprinter back in action. However, the ace athlete’s performance in the 50-meter butterfly qualification took an unexpected turn.

He could not achieve his former top speed and also struggled to keep up with his competitors. It was clearly evident that the former seven-time Olympic champion had seen better days in the pool. The disappointment on his face was palpable, as he knew that this performance was far from his best. He even refused to talk to the media after the tournament. Dressel did his best but was outdone by his competitors who seemed to be in better shape than him.

Caeleb Dressel’s Worlds Ambitions Dashed

In the final qualifying round for the World Championships held in Indianapolis, Dressel finished in the third position. He had touched the end zone in both the 2019 and 2022 World Championships at 23.35 seconds, winning him the world champion title twice. In the current event, Dressel managed to clock the same time. However, Michael Andrew clocked in at 23.11, and the runner-up, Dare Rose, finished the bout in 23.20 seconds. This earned Dressels the third rank in the qualifying round.

Although Dressel lost, it was a remarkable performance when considering the long break the athlete had taken between the 2022 World Championships and the current event. In between, Dressel had only participated in one minor league meet. Fans will be happy to learn that they may see Dressel at Japan’s World Championship. He can make it into the U.S. team for both the 100 m fly and 50 m freestyle.

The well-loved athlete has the support of his teammates, who are looking forward to having him on the squad when they go to Fukuoka next month. Ryan Murphy, who was the winner of the 200 m backstroke on Wednesday, spoke to ESPN, saying, “It would be awesome,” to have Dressel join them in Japan. With his team by his side, Dressel is currently gearing up to earn his way into the squad in the upcoming rounds.

Unwavering Team Support as Teammates Await His Return On The Squad

Dressel and Murphy are on the same training team and help each other a lot. The latter also gave a solid justification for his wish to have Caeleb Dressel join the team in Japan. In the same interview, the outstanding athlete revealed, “He’s a pretty magnetic personality. He really does help everyone around him.” Dressel’s presence on the team will be great for team morale. So, many of his teammates wish that he makes it into the team through either of the two qualifying rounds he will be competing in.

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Dressel had also performed poorly in the preliminaries of the 100 m free at the nationals. It was heartbreaking to see the maestro, who had won five gold medals for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics, finish in the 29th rank. It remains to see if the star swimmer can regain momentum in the upcoming qualifying rounds. Fans, too, are looking forward to seeing this great swimmer participate in the world championship.

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